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White's assertive opening move opens lines for the queen and king's bishop and fights for control of the squares d5 and f5. This move is popular at all levels of the game and was the favoured opening move of world champion Bobby Fischer who called it 'best by test'.

Openings with 1.e4 are traditionally considered more sharp and attacking than those with 1.d4, but this is an extreme generalisation and both players will have many more opportunities to influence the type of position that appears.

With a pawn on e4, White's simplest plan is to play d4 on the next move, creating a strong 'classical' centre.

Plan 1 (pawn on e5, share centre) can be carried out very simply with 1...e5. Black sees what White has and wants the same thing. However, White's argument is that moving first in a symmetrical position is eventually going to favour the player moving first.

Plan 2 (pawn on d5, share centre) is the motivation behind 1...c6, the Caro-Kann Defence, and 1...e6, the French Defence. If Black tries to put a pawn on d5 immediately, White will capture it, so in order to maintain a pawn on d5 Black needs to be able to recapture with a pawn from either c6 or e6.

But, with 1...c5, the Sicilian Defence, Black can prevent White's d4 advance and also create an asymmetrical position of attack and counter-attack. The Sicilian is by far the most popular reply to 1.e4 among top players.

The position after 3 moves of the Pirc Defence. White's d-pawn is next in line to be undermined.

In the Pirc Defense, the move 1...d6 prepares the move 2...Nf6. In Alekhine Defence (mentioned above for Plan 3), 1...Nf6 can be met by 2.e5 kicking the knight back. But, in the Pirc, after 1...d6 2.d4 Nf6, the move 3.e5 doesn't work because of 3...dxe5 4.dxe5 Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Ng4! forking the pawns on e5 and f2.

So instead, White's usual move to defend the e-pawn is 3.Nc3. Now, White's d-pawn is vulnerable to the advances ...c5 or ...e5, because neither White's e-pawn or c-pawn can defend it.

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1...Nc6 (Nimzowitsch Defense)

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1...b6 (Owen Defense)

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1...a6 (St. George Defense)

Plan 5 also covers a number of fringe options.

After 1...Nc6, the Nimzowitsch Defence, Black is able to react to 2.d4 with a thrust of either the d-pawn or e-pawn.

1...b6 is a similar idea to 1...g6 but doesn't have the benefit of preparing kingside castling.

1...a6 is mostly famous for having been played by Tony Miles against then World Champion Anatoly Karpov, and having thus acquired the name St. George Defence.